Christmas Tree Lighting Festivities

Free with Museum admission

The 16-foot tall Grand Hall Christmas Tree, with its historically accurate trimmings, is the center of Whitehall’s holiday celebrations. The Tree Lighting festivities include holiday music played on Whitehall’s original 1,249-pipe Odell organ and the 1902 Steinway art-case grand piano. This annual performance is the only opportunity visitors have to hear both of Whitehall’s majestic instruments. Special choir performances, refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus complete the afternoon’s activities. The event culminates with Henry Flagler’s youngest descendants lighting the Grand Hall Christmas Tree. Each visitor will receive a box of Animal Crackers, a treat invented in the Gilded Age. The iconic circus box with a string was originally designed as a Christmas Tree ornament. The Christmas Tree Lighting Festivities are sponsored by Florida Weekly.